TIME WARNER COMES DOWN TO EARTHLINK

Time Warner announced today that it would allow access to broadband services from EarthLink—the nation's number-two Internet provider—on its high-speed cable systems.

The move may help smooth the Federal Trade Commission's feathers with respect to TW's pending merger with America Online. The FTC had insisted that ISP competition in its cable system was a prerequisite for approval.

Of course, that still leaves the Federal Communications Commission, which could insist, for example, that Wile E. Coyote finally be allowed to catch the Roadrunner.

In related news, the deadline for antitrust review in the AOL-TW deal has been extended to mid-December. The EarthLink arrangement won't take effect until AOL and TW receive regulatory approval and close their deal. The two companies still expect to close by the end of the year.

"We believe [the TW- EarthLink deal] will serve as a model for future broadband agreements," said Time Warner Cable President Glenn A. Britt. "By which I mean that, in the future, all ISPs will have to sign an agreement with us."